Forevermore ~Gaara~

Chapter 22

To be perfectly fair, Kenchi had good reason to hate Gaara. And he had no intention of following to the line of every other citizen, making the 'he didn't know how to control himself' , 'it's different now' , all the blah and bullshit. He had decided to tell the story himself, in full detail, ready to throw every single thing he could into that bastards face.

Kenchi, believe it or not, was an adorable and happy child. His family was small, only himself, his mother, father, and a younger sister named Noe. They were close, spending nearly every evening together. It was common for them to take small walks around their neighborhood before it got dark. On this particular night, Kenchi and Noe ran a little ahead of their parents who walked arm in arm with glistening smiles. It was watching their children play that brought them the most peace in their little lives.

This night, Noe had begged to go just a little farther. She wanted to play a little more before going back to get ready for bed. Her parents didn't seem the harm. Noe was getting older, she could stay up just a little later. But they still kept a close eye on her. Kenchi was having his own touch of fun though.

As the sun was just starting to go down, the lizards were coming out and trying to find a new warm place to stay. He wanted to catch one! He had fallen behind when he finally managed to spot one crawling up a near by building. "Kenchi, don't fall too far back. Stay in sight."

"Okay Mom!" He yelled back. His hands were cupped and ready to catch the wriggly reptile. Just a little closer...

"Oh my God! Noe, get over here right now!" Kenchi swung around after hearing his mothers frightened scream. He turned just in time. Just in time to see it all happen. It was almost slow motion. He took note of the frightened expressions on his parents faces, the confusion on Noe's as she looked back at them. He noted the anger that grew steadily on HIS face. The red haired boy. The monster boy who would kill you if you made him even the slightest bit upset.

He was a grade above him in the ninja academy. But everyone knew he would graduate early. His two older siblings had already graduated, and the teachers were too afraid of him to keep him in school much longer. He had seen what he could do. That's why the sight of his sand whipping around his young sister, heading straight for his parents, made his blood run ice cold. He heard their cries of pain as the sand pierced them.

Noe screamed as she watched them fall to the ground, turning back to the boy before her. Her eyes wide with fear. "Don't look at me like that." He growled, his sand wrapping around her. She struggled against it.

"Kenchi! Kenchi! Help me!"

"Noe!" He took off in her direction, but it was too late. The life had been squeezed from her. Her body now lay on the ground in a crumpled heap. His parents dead near by. It was cold. So cold. No thoughts ran through his head, everything was quiet. It was like he was numb as he looked upon the damage that had been done in such a short time. Slowly, he dropped to the ground, his fists clutching the sand. "You killed them..." He whimpered. "You just... you killed them! YOU MONSTER!" He screamed at Gaara.

But he only stood there. He met Kenchi's eyes, seeing the growing emotion in them. "Hate me all you want." Gaara responded. He turned and began to walk away. "It makes me feel alive."

Kenchi's heart felt like it was caving in on itself. It hurt. The cold was creeping under his skin. And finally, he let it out. A scream, the tears, and ice. The ice came from his heart and spread down his hands, coating the ground in thick frost. His hatred only grew from there. And it was the next year he was moved to the magic class.

---------------------------------------------------

Everyone was quiet as the story came to a close. The words were still heavy in the air and Honiji was feeling the weight in her heart. She had been listening very carefully and trying to picture Gaara in all of these stories. But she couldn't. Of course she knew they hadn't made any of this up. They can't. It's not something that you can just make up. But the Gaara she had come to know... and the one that were described to her... It was hard to put the two together. Not to mention just the magnitude of horrible events not only surrounding him but caused by him.

Honiji lifted her gaze slightly. "Anymore? Paku? Are you involved?"

"Oh, don't worry. He broke my arm in third grade, nothing tragic." His attempt at lightening the mood fell flat as everything lay still and silent again.

She let the stories replay in her head. It was a lot. But she made a decision for herself and stood, gathering her things and packing her bag. "Uh... Honiji?" Paku asked.

"I'm going home for the day. I think I need to sleep a little more, maybe call my sister."

"Honiji, we should talk about-"

"Stop." Honiji interrupted Kaita. "I'm done talking today and I'm done listening." Her hands paused as she picked up a book she had checked out. "None of this has changed my mind about getting married. But it's a lot to take in at once. I need to go home and think for a while." She quickly finished packing and began to leave the library.

Gaara didn't try to stop her, neither did Kaita. Even Paku understood that she just needed some space after this emotional assault. But Kenchi's hand whipped out fast, grabbing her upper arm. She stiffened visibly. "Listen. I only have your best interest-"

"Let go of me right now Kenchi." It was the closest thing to anger any of them had ever heard come from her. He let go out of surprise and watched her walk casually down the hall.